Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mothers Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy [Paperback]

Bonnie Buxton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2005

Part heartfelt memoir, part practical guide, Damaged Angels recounts Bonnie Buxton's struggles to raise an adopted daughter whom she didn't realize was afflicted with fetal alcohol disorder. Her book also offers guidance to parents who have children with FASD. By the time Bonnie's daughter Colette hit first grade, her parents were coping with her frequent stealing and lying, and the necessity of special education. At fourteen, she discovered drugs and sex; by eighteen, she was a crack addict living on the streets. After many frustrating years consulting numerous therapists, a TV news story gave Bonnie the answer she was looking for — and sent her on a quest for a diagnosis and help for Colette. Damaged Angels can aid and comfort all those affected by FASD — the most common cause of intellectual impairments in most industrialized nations — and reduce the number of babies born with this disorder in the future. The most important book on fetal alcohol disorder since Michael Dorris's The Broken Cord, Damaged Angels is a book for every parent, practitioner, and teacher working with a child with FASD.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One day, clicking around on the family computer, Buxton found her 14-year-old adopted daughter Colette's will. What might have been a typical angst-filled document by another teenager was quite worrisome in this case: Colette suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), an impairment that affects one out of every 100 North Americans, according to Buxton. The disorder made her violent and antisocial. By the time Colette wrote the will, she was addicted to drugs and prone to violent outbursts; before she was 18, she had endured multiple brushes with death. Canadian journalist Buxton thoroughly describes her frustrating attempts to get help for her two daughters (another adopted daughter also suffered from FASD). Her honesty and humility are blunt: "The fact that Brian [her husband] and I could make each other laugh at least once a day, often making evil jokes about our children, was what kept us relatively sane...." The devil really is in the details in this sometimes painful account. On the one hand, Buxton's insistence on logging the minutiae of caring for her daughters is impressive, and she intersperses these sections with copious research and case studies on FASDs. On the other hand, her recounting of umpteen doctors' appointments, forms and phone calls weighs the memoir down and buries some salient gems. (May)
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About the Author

Bonnie Buxton is a journalist who has written articles for numerous Canadian magazines and newspapers. She and her husband, Brian Philcox, are co-founders of FASworld Canada, the Canadian nonprofit organization that works at building awareness around the world. They live in Toronto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (April 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786715502
• ISBN-13: 978-0786715503
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Adoption

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, some answers., February 16, 2006

By 

Nysha (Orofino, ID USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mothers Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy (Paperback)

This is an excellent resource for parents of FAE/FAS children, adopted or by birth. If you have a child who doesn't understand cause and effect, looks normal, but acts years younger than his or her age, this is the book for you.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect mix of fact and real-life example, February 18, 2006

By 

Claudia C. Barker (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mothers Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy (Paperback)

Bonnie Buxton does an amazing job in this book of thoroughly explaining the damage that prenatal alcohol exposure does to an unborn child's brain and how that plays out in real-life examples, without painting a picture that is dark and hopeless. We get to see these real families working hard to make good lives for their children, feel their struggles, grieve in their failures and celebrate in their successes. This is a beautiful book full of life and hope.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From One Adoptive Mom to Another...., January 3, 2006

By 

Mom of 6 (Central California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mothers Struggle to Understand the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy (Paperback)

Buy this book if you are thinking of adoption. Buy this book if you have adopted. Buy this book if you drank alcohol during your pregnancy. Buy this book if your mother drank while pregnant with you. It will answer all your questions and point you in all the right directions.